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Placerville father charged in son Roman Lopez's death sentenced for sexually exploiting girl

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CBS News Sacramento Live

PLACERVILLE — Jordan Piper, the Placerville father accused of killing his 11-year-old son Roman Lopez in 2020, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually exploiting a young girl, prosecutors announced Monday.

Piper will also serve seven and a half years of supervised release once he is out of prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Prosecutors said Piper placed a GoPro behind a wall outlet in a Groveland home to secretly record dozens of videos of the young victim bathing and of her genitals.

criminal complaint filed in June last year revealed that investigators recovered Piper's phone while executing a search warrant and discovered more than 430 nude images of the underage girl.

Piper and Lopez's stepmother, Lindsay Piper, were arrested in February 2021, more than a year after the body of Lopez was found in the basement of the family's Placerville home.

Both were charged with child abuse and torture. Lindsay was also charged with poisoning. Murder charges were then added after nearly two years of investigating Lopez's death.

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Jordan Piper (left), Lindsay Piper (center), and Roman Lopez El Dorado County Sheriff's Office

Jordan Piper pleaded not guilty to the charges related to Lopez's death. Lindsay Piper previously changed her not guilty plea to no contest for the murder charge and is currently serving 15 years to life in prison. As part of her plea deal, the other charges were dismissed.

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